CHARLOTTE — Dan Morgan said he would address the Panthers run defense this offseason, and the negotiating period of free agency opened, the Carolina general manager did just that.

According to multiple reports, including from NFL Network, the Panthers agreed to terms with Rams defensive tackle Bobby Brown III on Monday. Deals can't be official until the league year begins Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Brown is a Mississippi native, from Bruce in the northern part of the state. He committed to Texas A&M where he spent three years playing for the Aggies. After being drafted by Los Angeles in the fourth-round of the 2021 draft, Brown won a Super Bowl as a rookie, when the Rams defeated the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.

Get to know Bobby Brown III with these fast five facts.

He's A Young One

Brown spent only three years at TAMU and has a later summer birthday. That means he's only 24-years old right now and won't turn 25 until training camp is under way. As the Panthers work to build their defense for the long-term, they've focused on younger guys coming into their second contract on whom they can lock in for the foreseeable future.

Brown fits that mold with presumably many more years of his playing future ahead.

Still Growing In His Role

Perhaps due to his age, or maybe his playing time in college and then the NFL, Brown is still growing into what it means to be a dynamic defensive lineman. When on the field though, Brown has proven his worth and produced. In his final year at Texas A&M, his one year as a starter, Brown finished with 5.5 sacks. It was a mark that was seventh in the entire SEC, led the Aggies defense and helped named him to the All-SEC team.

Since entering the league, his production has risen each year in every category. He'll come to Carolina after a season in which he finished with a career best 44 tackles and a pass defended from the interior line position.

A Tackling Machine

Pro Football Focus gave Brown an 80.1 tackling grade for the 2024 season. That was the best such grade for all interior defensive lineman in the league. The grade speaks not only to Brown's tackle total but also each situation.

Overall, Brown posted a 16.4 percent run tackle rate, which was 10th among all defensive tackles in the league, with 28 pure run stops.

It's an area where the Panthers will need his help, following a year in which the club finished last in the league in run defense (179.8 yards per game).

Ready To Grow In His Role

While Brown is a mountain built for stopping the run (he's 6-4, 328 pounds), he is ready to grow beyond his role as much as allowed or possible. Speaking with SI Rams in early March, Brown expressed a desire to be used as more than a run stopper and on passing downs.

Panthers defensive lineman A'Shawn Robinson spent two seasons with Brown in Los Angeles, playing along the same defensive line. When Robinson arrived in Carolina this year, he was asked to play more downs than ever before. Robinson proved he could play more than just run-downs, finishing with 379 run defense snaps, and 338 pass rush snaps (according to Next Gen Stats). This was partly due to the Week 1 injury to Derrick Brown and a necessary evil. Regardless, Robinson proved it could be done, even leading the defense 5.5 sacks. It opens the door for more defensive linemen, like Bobby Brown, to ask for pass rush snaps in the future.

Wrestling Background

Browns identity as a mauler in the trenches is born of a background in wrestling. While in high school, Brown was on the wrestling team, and as a junior, in the 285-pound weight class, he finished second in the University Interscholastic League (UIL) 6A District 3 tournament, first in the UIL 6A Region 1 tournament and fifth at the UIL 6A State Championship.